Carolina Panthers select McCaffrey at eight? Could it be?

The latest buzz in the Carolina Panthers rumor mill is their love of Christian McCaffrey. So much so, in fact, that the Panthers will certainly select him with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. So what to make of this, could it actually happen?

Well, yes, it could. Is it likely? That is an entirely different question.

I can tell you that the Panthers indeed are impressed with McCaffrey and would like to see him in Carolina, but he would not be their first choice with the eighth overall selection. In fact, he isn’t the second or even third choice. But what if no teams ahead of the Panthers select a quarterback and all preferred selections are off the board? Well, yes, in this case I concede that drafting McCaffrey is possible. After all, McCaffrey would fill many needs on the field from running back, to slot receiver, to kick returner. Although he is considered a “situational” running back by most, there are an abundance of situations in which he would be on the field. Looking at the big picture, that is all that matters isn’t it?

Over a month ago a pontificated a situation where the Carolina Panthers could draft Christian McCaffrey, but not with the eight pick overall in the draft. I still think that is a possibility. I suspect the Panthers would be much happier with McCaffrey later in the first round and not at pick eight.